Halloween 2023: Dumping pumpkins in the woods is bad for wildlife

As millions of pumpkins hit supermarket shelves and make their way to gardens, porches, and windowsills across the region, Forestry England is reminding members of the public not to leave spent pumpkins in forests or woodlands.

Each year, well-meaning social media posts circulate that encourage people to leave pumpkins in the woods for wildlife to eat.

But pumpkins are not natural to woodlands and can make some animals very poorly, such as our declining population of hedgehogs. Decomposing food waste can also attract pests and spread disease.

Instead, Forestry England recommends getting creative in the kitchen to use up Halloween pumpkins or recycling them at home.

Forestry England ecologist, Sam Pegler, said: “While it’s wonderful that people want to do their bit for nature, leaving rotting pumpkins in the countryside isn’t good for wildlife. Some animal centres may accept a small number of pumpkins for their residents, but these are carefully given to appropriate species and removed before they rot down. This isn’t possible in a forest setting, so is best avoided completely.

“My favourite way to use pumpkin is to explore the countless free and tasty recipes online. It isn’t all about soup, pumpkin is brilliant for stews, curries, pies, and even pasta and risotto dishes. If pumpkin really isn’t your thing, it can be disposed of in your food recycling container or composted at home. The high water content of pumpkin makes it a great composting material to add nitrogen and moisture to your compost bin.”

Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 291 million visits in 2022/23.

Mr Pegler continued: “As England’s largest land manager, we shape landscapes and enhance forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. We are continuing the work we have already started to make the nation’s forests resilient to climate change and by 2026 we will: create at least 6,000 more hectares where we integrate wilding activities in our productive forests, increase the diversity of visitors to the nation’s forests and have one million hours of high-quality volunteer time given to the nation’s forests and plant at least 2,000 hectares of new, high quality, predominantly broadleaf woodlands.”